I’ve seen the afterthoughts of Facebook users commenting on how cyberbullying played a role in the suicide of several animal advocates over the past few years. I’d like to address that issue in this article and hope you’ll give your opinion in the comment section.
One suicide I read about was from the horse advocacy community. I don’t remember the name of the lady (and it does tend to be women rather than men who resort to suicide when animal advocacy is involved) but several commented on an article surrounding her death where they say she was cyberbullied into taking her life.
Let’s face it. Facebook has created a whole new breed of “mean girls.” By this, I mean those who have nothing better to do with their time (and most of the time it IS women) than to start trouble any way they can. Sometimes this only goes so far as to mentally assault an animal advocate and sometimes a person is threatened physically.
Although most people overlook Facebook threats since Facebook has turned into a “battle royal” these days, someone with mental issues may take everything they read against them seriously. It can overcome reason and lead to a person hurting themselves or even taking their own life.
We read almost daily of a teen committing suicide following being cyberbullied. The bullies are usually in the younger age group and don’t realize the harm they’re potentially doing when they use words as weapons. Animal advocate bullying is quite different. Those who do the bullying know perfectly well the effect they’re having and may even go so far as to relish the fallout.
NY.gov states 43% of kids have been bullied online. One in four had it happen more than once. I wonder what the statistics are for adults being cyberbullied.
I’d really like to know just how many animal advocates have taken their own lives over the past few years because of bullying. If you remember a case, please tell us about it in the comment section. You don’t even have to give a name (for the sake of privacy) and can just describe the circumstances.
The photo I chose for this article says it all. How others see you is not important. How you see yourself means everything.
Some statistics
The 2014 study concluded that 39% of teenagers had seen online bullying on Facebook. A 2017 study of 10,000 young people (12 to 20) 37% had been bullied on Facebook. Facebook owns Instagram and Instagram is worse than Facebook sometimes. The study found that 42% of all young people bullied online were targeted on Instagram. I wonder if Instagram has taken over Facebook as the place where you are bullied the most.
A lot of people think that Facebook and other social media sites should be regulated. They are one of the few places left in the world that are almost totally unregulated. Facebook administrators do little to protect people. We know the position that Facebook take. They leave it to users to report abuse which is an ineffective way of managing the problem.
What is behind social media bitchiness?
From Michael — One high-profile lady, Julie Burchill, in the UK, puts it partly down to PMT (premenstrual tension)! I wonder if in a world of far greater gender equality women have found their voice on social media. They become highly assertive because they can be. There is no comeback. They are free to express their inner thoughts and anger. There is also the power of anonymity. You can use a pseudonym – an alias and be someone else, the person you want to be. That person is much more aggressive, raging at the world.
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